Understanding the Concept of "Restorative Justice"

June 17, 2013
By
Taylor & Taylor Attorneys

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Recently, there has been a lot of attention on the concept of restorative
justice in Florida. Also known as "reparative justice," this
alternative form of prosecuting crime has been successfully used in communities
like Baltimore, MD, Minneapolis, MN and Oakland, CA. Until recently, however,
this controversial method had not been utilized in the Florida criminal
justice system. This concept considers the harm that was done and emphasizes
an agreement between all parties concerned—including the victim(s),
the offender and the community that have been affected by the crime. Instead
of handling the case through the traditional method of trial, wherein
the defendant would either be found guilty or not guilty, this alternative
form of prosecution aims to mend the ramifications of a crime in a constructive
setting—namely by considering how the wrongdoing has affected a
specific individual and/or community, rather than the state.

In essence, restorative-justice diversion programs foster a dialogue between
the victim and the offender. This subsequently allows each party to work
out an arrangement in which the victim can come to terms with the fact
that the offender has taken responsibility for their actions and accepted
suitable punishment—which is typically less than what would have
been imposed by the traditional criminal justice system. This method is
most commonly applied to non-violent or "less serious" crimes
like property offenses or theft crimes, since the wrong can be clearly
righted by returning and/or replacing the damaged property, but these
diversion programs have been designed to facilitate more serious crimes,
as well. In order for this process to work, however, each party must be
willing to participate in a restorative-community conference—in
which each party would come to a consensus about how the offender will
repair the harm that they have inflicted.

If the offender is willing and able to complete restitution, the case can
be resolved outside of the adversarial legal system. While the implementation
of reparative justice is rare, studies have shown that this method has
been known to yield some of the highest rates of victim satisfaction and
offender accountability. For this reason, you should not hesitate to discuss
your options with a
St. Augustine criminal defense lawyer from Taylor & Taylor Attorneys if you have recently been charged with a crime.

Our firm is well-qualified to defend you in the most effective manner possible—whether
that includes going to trial or initiating the process of reparative justice—so
we encourage you to learn more by contacting our firm today. We are ready
and willing to provide you with the aggressive representation that you
will need, but it is up to you to take the first step.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only.
Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual
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or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.